Opposition from the federal government has killed AT&T's bid to take over T- …

After encountering stiff opposition from the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T announced Monday that it was abandoning its bid to take over T-Mobile. Here's how AT&T spun the news:

The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.

AT&T will continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile Internet revolution" said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “Over the past four years we have invested more in our networks than any other U.S. company. As a result, today we deliver best-in-class mobile broadband speeds—connecting smartphones, tablets and emerging devices at a record pace—and we are well under way with our nationwide 4G LTE deployment."

The deal's future has been uncertain ever since August, when the Department of Justice filed suit to stop the transaction. AT&T promised to fight on, but the deal's prospects became even gloomier when the FCC piled on, threatening to refer the case to an administrative law judge for an examination of its legality under antitrust law. The FCC also released a staff report that was harshly critical of the deal.

AT&T began an increasingly desperate search for a way to salvage the deal. "We are actively considering whether and how to revise our current transaction to achieve the necessary regulatory approvals," a spokesperson said last week. But that search apparently came up empty.

AT&T says it will "recognize a pretax accounting charge of $4 billion"—that includes a $3 billion breakup fee AT&T agreed to pay T-Mobile if the deal fell through, as well as spectrum rights worth another $1 billion. AT&T will also "enter a mutually beneficial roaming agreement with Deutsche Telekom."

While the failure of the deal is obviously a big blow to AT&T, it represents something of a strategic triumph for T-Mobile and its parent company, Deutsche Telekom. Not only will it have an extra $3 billion worth of cash in the bank, but the increased spectrum and the new roaming agreement will allow T-Mobile to compete more effectively against its larger rivals.

Free Press, one of the deal's most persistent critics, was jubilant. "This deal would have only meant higher prices, fewer choices and tens of thousands of lost American jobs," said CEO Craig Aaron. "Good riddance."

But Ryan Radia, an analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, faulted the FCC for interfering with the case. "Had AT&T moved forward, it would have had to defend the deal before an administrative law judge employed not by a court of law, but by the FCC," he told Ars. And that judge would have been evaluating the deal under the "nebulous" standard of the "public interest."

Timothy B. Lee
Timothy covers tech policy for Ars, with a particular focus on patent and copyright law, privacy, free speech, and open government. His writing has appeared in Slate, Reason, Wired, and the New York Times. Emailtimothy.lee@arstechnica.com//Twitter@binarybits

poor AT&T, stupid communists and their anti-trust this is terrible news for the consumer, we'll have more choices and fewer monopolies, more competition is a bad thing doesn't anybody listen to the big authorities this would never happen if everybody believed in God

I'd buy it, but I only have two dollar bills in my pocket and I don't want to get ripped off.

Edit: To be fair, I wouldn't want any of em. I've been without a cell phone for 3 months and I am LOVING it. I see people texting non-stop and realize I used to do the same thing and just shake my head.

poor AT&T, stupid communists and their anti-trust this is terrible news for the consumer, we'll have more choices and fewer monopolies, more competition is a bad thing doesn't anybody listen to the big authorities this would never happen if everybody believed in God

You certainly have one of the strangest posting histories that I've come across at Ars.

poor AT&T, stupid communists and their anti-trust this is terrible news for the consumer, we'll have more choices and fewer monopolies, more competition is a bad thing doesn't anybody listen to the big authorities this would never happen if everybody believed in God

You certainly have one of the strangest posting histories that I've come across at Ars.

Obvious troll account is obvious. Either that or the perp is mentally unstable.

There are times when I just don't understand our citizens, or their thought processes. Capitalism *can* work, if regulators will just get the fuck out of the way. The *only* thing wrong with it is that nobody has embraced it completely. We say "Operate in a free market but oh, by the way, you're bound by these restrictions." Where the fuck has this gotten us. We've *never* tried a truly free market. We've always been too chicken-shit to try it.

Why is everyone too much of a chicken-shit to vote with your wallets? There is absolutely *no* *fucking* excuse. You all brought it on yourselves, then you expect the government to bail you out. Shame on you. Fucking *double* shame on you. We're not socialists. We're not communists. WE ARE CAPITALISTS. If you don't like it, get the F out. There a hundred other countries for you. Go to Canada.

There are times when I just don't understand our citizens, or their thought processes. Capitalism *can* work, if regulators will just get the fuck out of the way. The *only* thing wrong with it is that nobody has embraced it completely. We say "Operate in a free market but oh, by the way, you're bound by these restrictions." Where the fuck has this gotten us. We've *never* tried a truly free market. We've always been too chicken-shit to try it.

Why is everyone too much of a chicken-shit to vote with your wallets? There is absolutely *no* *fucking* excuse. You all brought it on yourselves, then you expect the government to bail you out. Shame on you. Fucking *double* shame on you. We're not socialists. We're not communists. WE ARE CAPITALISTS. If you don't like it, get the F out. There a hundred other countries for you. Go to Canada.

There are times when I just don't understand our citizens, or their thought processes. Capitalism *can* work, if regulators will just get the fuck out of the way. The *only* thing wrong with it is that nobody has embraced it completely. We say "Operate in a free market but oh, by the way, you're bound by these restrictions." Where the fuck has this gotten us. We've *never* tried a truly free market. We've always been too chicken-shit to try it.

Why is everyone too much of a chicken-shit to vote with your wallets? There is absolutely *no* *fucking* excuse. You all brought it on yourselves, then you expect the government to bail you out. Shame on you. Fucking *double* shame on you. We're not socialists. We're not communists. WE ARE CAPITALISTS. If you don't like it, get the F out. There a hundred other countries for you. Go to Canada.

I think some things should get regulated, like, say the FDA ensuring companies don't sell typhoid-infected meats. But, other things, like corn subsidies...yeah...there's some political BS going on there.

We've had unbridled capitalism in this country and in western Europe. In late 1800s. Workers were working 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, just to afford the most basic needs like food and shelter. Children were crawling on all fours in coal mines because the shafts were too small for adults.

There are times when I just don't understand our citizens, or their thought processes. Capitalism *can* work, if regulators will just get the fuck out of the way. The *only* thing wrong with it is that nobody has embraced it completely. We say "Operate in a free market but oh, by the way, you're bound by these restrictions." Where the fuck has this gotten us. We've *never* tried a truly free market. We've always been too chicken-shit to try it.

Why is everyone too much of a chicken-shit to vote with your wallets? There is absolutely *no* *fucking* excuse. You all brought it on yourselves, then you expect the government to bail you out. Shame on you. Fucking *double* shame on you. We're not socialists. We're not communists. WE ARE CAPITALISTS. If you don't like it, get the F out. There a hundred other countries for you. Go to Canada.

I think some things should get regulated, like, say the FDA ensuring companies don't sell typhoid-infected meats. But, other things, like corn subsidies...yeah...there's some political BS going on there.